In an interview with CVG's PSM3 magazine, Skyrim director Todd Howard said he thought consumers were happy with the current hardware.

"I think it's going to be a while still, I really do. I think consumers are happy with the current ones, there's a lot you can do with them," he said before insisting he doesn't think the next-gen machines will come "next year or the year after."

If Howard is to be believed though, it could be good news for Nintendo, as speculation is rife that the Wii U will have quite a battle on its hands when the new kit from Sony and Microsoft appear.

Bethesda's Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is set for release this November and Howard asserts it will be fresher than fresh. "We don't want it to feel, visually or technically, 'Oh this is Fallout 3' or 'this is Oblivion'. And if we couldn't do that, we would have waited." ®